‘B Dubs’: 10 Slang Terms for Popular Brand Names

In 2010, executives at popular automaker Chevrolet circulated an internal memo to employees cautioning them against using a common nickname: Chevy. Though the car had been widely known by that name for decades, General Motors feared it might confuse new international markets it was attempting to break into and create an inconsistent branding message. But after public criticism, Chevrolet clarified their position, insisting they “love” when consumers use the term.

Whether they do or not, there’s no question that nicknames and colloquial terms are often a sign of the public's affection for a business. Take a look at some other slang terms for popular consumer brands.

Wally World // Walmart

Bargain-hunting shoppers headed for Walmart might announce they’re “planning a trip to Wally World.” While etymological evidence on its first-ever use is scant, the nickname does appear in the letter of a seventh grader that was published in the Carlsbad Current-Argus newspaper in 1990. Writing of a fishing trip, the kid mentioned his family “went to Wally World (Wal-mart) to buy a little extra food and restock our supplies.” The term may have later proliferated on the internet.

The nickname has some fairly sizable name recognition: According to a 2019 National Retail Federation survey, 79 percent of respondents knew Wally World refers to Walmart, and 63 percent have used the term themselves.

Walley World (with an e) was the fictional amusement park that motivates the Griswold family to take a road trip in 1983’s National Lampoon’s Vacation. The park likely had something to do with the store’s nickname. “With its vast selection of products, low prices, and one-stop-shop convenience, Walmart can feel like an amusement park for bargain-hunting consumers," retail expert Michael Barton told MarketingScoop.com. “The nickname ‘Wally World’ playfully nods to this idea, suggesting that a trip to Walmart is not just a routine errand but an adventure in its own right.”

B Dubs // Buffalo Wild Wings

Chicken wing franchise Buffalo Wild Wings has two popular nicknames: B Dubs and BW3s. The latter refers to the chain’s original name upon being founded in 1982: Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck (or a kummelweck roll). The name was shortened in 1998, and so was the nickname. In 2017, the chain opened a scaled-down restaurant focused on takeout and delivery that it named B Dubs Express.

Mickey D’s // McDonald’s

McDonald’s has two pervasive nicknames: the Golden Arches and Mickey D’s. The former clearly refers to the looming signage at its locations, but Mickey D’s has an intriguing backstory. According to Green’s Dictionary of Slang, the phrase may have originated in the Black community in the 1970s, which the corporation later recognized and began using in its advertising. It registered Mickey D’s as a trademark in 1982. In 1993, it even named a new burger the “Mickey D.” The 5.3-ounce slab of beef was marketed as being larger than competing burgers but failed to catch on.

Call it “Mickey D’s” in Australia, though, and you might get blank stares. There, it’s known as Macca’s.

Bloomie’s // Bloomingdale’s

In the late 1800s, brothers Joseph and Lyman Bloomingdale transformed retail in New York City by offering a variety of ladies’ fashions when other stores of the era often had just one type of garment or style. Bloomingdale’s eventually expanded its selection to housewares and soon consumed an entire city block. The brand conferred a type of status among shoppers; one consumer even boasted of paying $1000 more for dining room furniture than at a competitor’s shop because she wanted to brag about buying it at Bloomingdale’s.

What shoppers apparently couldn’t afford was the time it took to utter the store’s three-syllable name. They took to calling it “Bloomie’s.” The slang term was around as early as 1928, when the store advertised a holiday appearance by Bloomie the Clown. One of the earliest printed mentions of Bloomie’s as a nickname came in 1969, which defined it as “girl talk for Bloomingdale’s.” In 1973, another paper described “Bloomie’s, as … many young marrieds and career people affectionately call it.” In 2021, the chain began opening smaller stores under the Bloomie’s banner.

Caddy // Cadillac

The luxury carmaker Cadillac was named for Antoine de la Mothe, the French founder of Detroit who carried the self-imposed honorific Sieur de Cadillac to falsely imply a family history of nobility. (He was also alleged to have exploited fur traders to enhance his own wealth, among other improprieties.) Cadillac the company was founded in 1902, but how quickly people found the Caddy shorthand for it is unknown. In a 1950 news bulletin, a broadcaster named Art Hannes was said to have “just missed being hit by a Caddy” on Broadway in New York City. Hannes was then quoted as saying, “Never trust those Cadillac drivers—they’re too busy making payments to learn how to drive.”

Caddy isn’t the only nickname Cadillac enjoys: Caddy limos modified for presidential use are known as the Beast.

Skinemax // Cinemax

Cinemax, which debuted in 1980, was a premium pay cable channel that never quite moved out of the shadow of bigger brother HBO. And rather than share that network’s prestige label, it developed a reputation for salacious programming, including softcore adult films that often aired as a part of a “After Dark” block with titles like The Bikini Escort Company and Busty Housewives of Beverly Hills. Such films and shows earned the station the nickname Skinemax. In the 2010s, Cinemax was making more of an effort with it original fare, offering Steven Soderbergh’s The Knick and the action drama Banshee with a pre-Boys Antony Starr. By 2018, both Cinemax and HBO had largely stepped away from adult fare. The headline in The Hollywood Reporter: “Skinemax No More.”

Tar-jay // Target

The ultimate in boomer humor might be pronouncing discount retail chain Target as “TAR-jay” or “TAR-zhay,” as though the place where one stocks up on laundry detergent and underwear is a fancy French shop. The whimsical nickname may have taken root in the company’s home state of Minnesota. Douglas Dayton, a member of the founding family and the first president of Target, once said he caught the joke as early as 1962. “Duluth was the first place I heard it,” he said.

The Tiffany Network // CBS

The media has long called CBS “the Tiffany network.” The term likely stemmed from the leadership of William S. Paley, the chief executive who developed a reputation for programming critically respected series in the 1950s and 1960s like Playhouse 90 and The Defenders, along with employing journalists like Edward R. Murrow. In aiming for quality, Paley drew comparisons to luxury jeweler Tiffany and Co.—a far cry from the boob tube and idiot box slang of the era.

Other networks tried to get in on the action, too. Fred Silverman of ABC once said he wanted to make ABC “the Tiffany of networks.” And in 1971, Oscar ceremony warm-up comic Hal Kantor told the audience that NBC was “the Tiffany of networks—on some nights.”

Big Blue // IBM

The stodgy International Business Machines, or IBM, has long been known by its nickname, Big Blue. One theory is that the blue referred to the blue displays of its computer monitors dating back to the 1960s; another has it that the blue font in the company logo inspired it. But the name might have origins in the company’s location in Rochester, Minnesota. The building, erected in 1958, has a blue tint that architect Eero Saarinen reportedly got from the blue skies and lakes common to the state. (The name of IBM’s supercomputer, Deep Blue, was inspired by the Big Blue nickname.)

Coke // Coca-Cola

It’s unusual that people asking for a Coca-Cola actually use the brand name Coca-Cola. “I’d like a Coca-Cola” is very officious. Most people request a Coke.

The nickname caught on early—and Coca-Cola wasn’t terribly happy about it. In 1913, the company ran ads exhorting consumers to “ask for it by its full name,” presumably because Coke might end up meaning any kind of soft drink. But the market was having none of it. By the 1940s, Coca-Cola was forced to acknowledge the nickname in advertising, noting that it was a “friendly abbreviation” for the full name. The company later trademarked it.

Ironically, Chevrolet’s higher-ups cited Coke in their memo requesting that employees curb use of Chevy, noting that Coke “[focuses] on the consistency of their branding.” Perhaps, but when consumers insist, brands have little choice but to go along.

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